I LOVE a man with a beard. If you combine that with good looks, and an awesome hair cut…

I saw this on Kindle Unlimited and after ogling the cover for a moment (or five), I downloaded it and decided to give it a try. Did I read the description? Absolutely not. The cover sold me, and I had no idea what I was getting into, and I have only myself to blame.

Every now and then, I find myself in a particular mood for a good cry. Maybe because there is a flaw in my character, or maybe because I do it so seldomly I want to check to see if my ducts are still functioning. Either way, if I feel like a good cry, I pop a bottle of wine, turn on The Notebook, and hug a pillow. Tonight wasn’t that kind of night for me. I had no desire to be depressed, but when I quickly realized that this book was going to illicit that response from me, I still couldn’t put it down.

The Air He Breathes is about two people suffering from loss. They are neighbors, and both are dealing with it in their own way. The h, Elizabeth, lost her husband to cancer. He left her behind with their little girl Emma, and she just moved back home after living with her mom when she was mourning. She misses him a lot, but is trying to be strong for her daughter.

Sometimes the hardest part of existing without your loved ones was remembering how to breathe.

It is back in town where she meets Tristan. He is the town’s broody asshole. He is suffering from losing someone precious to him as well. His wife and child died in a horrific car accident, and even though he wasn’t in town when it happened, he still feels personally responsible for it. He is hurting, angry, and lashes out at anyone who comes in contact with him. He is unable to get past it, he doesn’t even want to, and when the two of them meet, he is his trademark asshole self.

She doesn’t let that deter her from extending her hand in friendship, and what happens from there is a painful journey that I am still trying to get over.

Tristan had some moments where I had to check to make sure my panties weren’t on fire from the stuff that he said. That man had a mouth on him…

“How do you want it?” I asked.
“Huh?”
My lips rested against hers as I spoke in a whisper, my breaths filling her up inside. “I can be rough. I can be gentle. I can make you scream. I can make you cry. I can fuck you so hard that you won’t be able to move. I can fuck you so slow that you’ll think I’m in love with you. So tell me how you want it.”

In between the sad moments, there were parts that made me smile. A blessed reprieve from the misery printed on every page. Her best friend had me laughing despite the sadness I felt, and thank God for that.

“I don’t think we have properly met,” Faye said as we danced together.

“So you’re the penis that’s been inside my best friend’s vagina.”

Well, that’s one way of putting it.

“And you’re the highly inappropriate best friend.”

This author is new-to-me, and is now definitely on my list of ones to check out when I want to have a good cry. The depth and feelings expressed in this book’s pages was beautifully tragic. The writing is phenomenal, and the characters flawed but that was what made them seem more realistic to me. The things that they said, did, and experienced held truth in them that made me continue on even when it hurt.